Random 21 jump street fanfics
by irosnea55
Summary: a series of one shots and stories all in one place.
1. Schools Out

**Because I don't want to flood the 21 jump street catagory with all my fanfics, I've decided to post one shots and stories on each chapter. I don't know if it's allowed but... as I say, I can't stop writing and I don't want to lose any of my stories on the computer.**

 _Genre - Drama_

 _No warnings_

 _Based on Schools out from season two when Judy suggested they should have a picnic in the park_

 _ **Story one**_

"I think I have a contagious flu coming on," Tom compained.

"I don't feel so good either," Harry agreed.

"Kinda of like a naked feeling all over?" said Judy.

Doug's head shot up from his crossword puzzle in surprise. "What was that Jude? Did you just say _naked_?"

"Nope, problem with your hearing Doug," Tom teased.

Judy smirked. "Maybe we should take the day off, go to the park and have a picnic and try to recover for tomorrow?"

And that's what they ended up doing. The weather was perfect for it. The sun was high and the sky was cloudless. They headed to a local park and built themselves an unplanned 'picnic'. They had no blanket to sit on and no basket either. All they had, was a bag of several items brought from a convenience store. But still, it was something. The Jump Street team never had a picnic together before. In fact, they hardly did anything because they often tackled case after case leaving no time to spend quality time together.

They all sat under a tree and nibbled at crisps, pretzels, nuts, and fruit. Including a family sized coke to share between them.

"I wonder if we all would've been friends if we hadn't worked together at Jump Street?" Harry said all of the sudden.

"That's kind of scary to think about," said Judy.

"Why?" Harry questioned.

"Even though we get along well, we are really different from each other," Judy said. "Take for example, Doug is an absolute slob whilst Tom is..."

"A snob," Doug continued.

"Excuse me!" Tom cried defensively before sending a kick to Doug's backside.

"Ow!"

"- Yet," Judy interrupted, "you guys are best friends."

"Same with you and Harry, Jude," said Doug. "You two also get along so well even though you are different genders."

"But, we _have_ to get along," said Tom. "Because it's our job to trust each other and look out for each other."

"Ooh, that's cold," Doug commented.

Judy shook her head. "No, you guys love each other really. I mean, you spend more time outside of work together than me and Harry. You don't have to go to each other's houses and go pretty much everywhere together - but you do."

"You got me there," said Tom in agreement.

"Yep, I can't help but love this cranky, uptight, little guy," said Doug, swinging his arm around the shoulders of his frowning friend which made Judy and Harry laugh.

"Hopefully we'll still see each other in ten years time," said Judy. "Because we won't be at Jump Street forever."

What Judy meant was, eventually they would have to leave Jump Street when they'll become too old to pass as high school students,

"Then we should all make a promise," said Harry. "A promise, that we'll always stick together no matter what."

They all nodded in agreement.

"I promise," said Judy. "Because we shouldn't throw away this special bond between us."

"Yeah," Doug agreed. "I think it was meant to be that we all met."

Tom nodded. "I can't imagine a world without you guys."

The four friends all looked at each other and smiled from ear to ear. It sure was a promise that they could never find in their heart to break.


	2. New computers

**Genre: Humor**

 **Characters: Tom, Doug, Fuller.**

 **\- I noticed in the TV show that the only computer in the chapel was in Fuller's office. But none of the Jump Street team had one. So what if they did?**

Tom thought he was to have an ordinary day at the chapel but when he entered, there was an unexpected surprise. Brand new computers complete with a keyboard and mouse were sitting upon each desk.

"What the heck is this?" he cried.

"Thanks to the funds we recieved, you now have your very own computer," Fuller explained.

"Do we _have_ to have it?" he whined.

"Yes we do Hanson," Fuller answered in a stern voice. "Every department has one and we need it to type out reports and and communicate by email."

There was no arguing with Fuller so he sat behind his desk and faced the enemy. He played around with it for a while to get the grips of it. He discovered it had internet, folders to store his files, and an email account created with his name.

He also had his first message sent less than a minute ago.

CAN YOU PASS ME A PEN? -DOUG.

Tom shot Doug a glare. His friend was only ten feet away from his desk. "If you want a pen, ask for it to my face."

"Relax!" Doug laughed. "I was just testing it out."

He passed over one of his pens. "Try and not lose this one, okay?"

"What do you think of the new computers?" Doug asked, taking the pen.

"I don't like it," he said bluntly. "I took a chunk out of my time trying to figure it all out when I could have done an hour's work by now."

"You'll get the hang of it."

He didn't want to get the hang of it. He preferred doing things the traditional way even though it was the year 1988 and moving fast.

"Just imagine would things would be like in ten years time."

Doug looked dreamy for a few seconds in thought. "I bet they would have hoverboards."

"You what?"

"You know, the hoverboards in the 'back to the future' movie?"

"Oh."

"You really got to keep up with the time zone Hanson," said Doug. "The whole planet seen that movie by now."

It wasn't his fault for being in the wrong era; he listened to jazz and enjoyed watching Chaplin and Laurel and Hardy movies.

"These computers are really cool though," said Doug. "I already chose Madonna as my desktop wallpaper and played some Tetris on the internet."

He peered at Doug's screen and sure enough, there was a black and white photo of Madonna with a lot on show.

"You're not going to let this computer distract you from working will you?"

Doug smiled sheepishly. "Maybe."

"Then this is probably the worst decision Fuller had ever made." He switched off the moniter and abruptly got up on his feet.

"Where are you going?"

"I'm gonna tell Fuller what I think."

"He's not going to listen to you because every department has one."

"I don't care," he argued. "I'm not having this piece of crap on my desk."

"It's not a piece of crap, it's art and it costs over 300 bucks!"

"I'm not listening to a guy whose putting naked Madonna's on his desktop and playing Tetris!"

Doug scoffed defensively.

He beelined to Fullers office and knocked before being called in.

"Yes?" said Fuller.

"I don't want a computer."

"Hanson, it's vital, every department across the planet has one."

"But I want to write my reports down on paper and send letters like I've always done."

"I'm sorry Hanson but that's just the way it is," said Fuller. "It's the modern world."

"But you're making a big mistake here," he said, sitting down before his desk. "These computers are only going to distract us from doing any _real_ work."

Fuller didn't seem to understand so he explained.

"There's internet."

"I'm aware there's internet and I made sure to tell everybody that it's strictly for research purposes and work related activities only."

He winced, realising that Doug had broke the rules. He tried to be a good friend though so he kept the discovery to himself. But when he left Fuller's office, he gave Doug an earful.

"Fuller told you not to go on the internet!"

"Oh come on Hanson, I played Tetris because I had no work to do and time to kill!"

"I hate 1988!" he groaned.


	3. Dorothy cheats

**A short fanfic.**

 **Synopsis** **\- Dorothy kisses Tom. Uh-oh!**

 **Characters: Tom/Doug/Dorothy**

 **Warnings: one swear word and some angst**

 **Drama/angst.**

After work, Tom decided to pay his best friend a visit.

But wasn't Doug who answered the door, but Dorothy. She wore a pink dotted shirt and jeans and her hair was messily piled up on her head.

She looked surprised to see him. "I'm sorry, but Doug isn't here. He's over at the intelligence office."

 _Dammit_.

Besides his mother, Doug was the only one who he truly felt comfortable with. And he needed him sp he could pour his heart out about how frustrating it was to work with Dennis Booker. He was still pushing his buttons and still hitting on Judy. He wasn't jealous; nor did he have an undying love for Judy. He just hated seeing him toying with her because he pretty much flirted with every girl in sight.

"Why don't you come in for a while?"

He didn't see why not because he was a little tired from the long drive. He made himself at home by sitting on their sunken, lumpy couch.

"Would you like anything to drink?" Dorothy asked.

"A beer would be good."

She raised her eyebrows. "I thought you hated beer?"

He smiled. "Yeah well, my habits had changed over the summer."

"Yes, I've noticed." she said. "And you've got two more ear piercings."

On his right ear, were three silver hoops. On his left there was one. Before Jump Street, he wasn't the kind of guy to make rash decisions like these. In fact, Judy had to hold him down just to get his ear pierced for the first time! But this year, he was open to change.

"It's not too excessive, is it?"

"No, I think it looks great on you," Dorothy reassured him. "Not many people would be able to pull that off but you can."

Dorothy left the room and returned with a can of beer and a glass of red wine. She passed the beer over to him and settled down beside him.

"So how's things going for you?"

He made a face.

"Not good, huh?" she chuckled. "I heard this new partner of yours is giving you a hard time."

"Yep, and one of these days I'm going to kill him."

He popped open his beer and gulped it down to calm his inner tension.

"I'll say...You look a little tired."

"Oh, I was making a buy last night...drug case. I stood out in the cold for hours."

"Poor you!"

"I suppose Doug is doing alright?"

"Yes, he's fine," she answered. "He loves it at Intelligence."

 _Of course he does. Otherwise he would be back by now._ He knew he sounded bitter but wouldn't anyone blame him? He hadn't seen his best friend for over two weeks - the longest they ever been without each other.

"I miss him too, you know," she said unhappily. "He comes home late most nights and usually goes straight to sleep."

They carried on talking - and also drinking. He downed three cans of beer during that time and began to feel a little drunk. He never gotten drunk in his life before because he was usually responsible.

He didn't know if Dorothy was getting tipsy too but she certainly looked like it. Her eyes were twinkling and she was giving him a sloshy smile.

And then it happened.

It happened so fast.

Something he least expected would ever happen.

It first began with a tickle of her hair against his cheek then the horrifying moment when her lips smacked against his own. He couldn't remember how long her lips was touching his... but long enough to process it.

He moved his head away and pushed her back. "Dorothy, what are you doing?" he asked in alarm.

"I like you Tommy."

His jaw dropped. He had no idea she liked him.

"What are you talking about?"

"I like you Tom... I've always had."

"But you're Doug's high school sweetheart!"

"I know we've known each other for a long time, but he doesn't own me. He's just there for me, no matter what."

"But he's my best friend Dorothy and I don't have any feelings for you what so ever!"

She looked hurt. "Tommy please..."

He tried to leave but she clung onto him.

"Please don't go."

He angrily shrugged out of her hold then left.

He couldn't believe this. It was a mess. He didn't know whether to tell Doug or not tell Doug. If Dorothy would ever confess. Or if Doug would ever suspect.

Chapter two.

It took one night and half a day debating on which decision to make until he met the problem himself. It was just an ordinary day at Jump Street when Doug made an unexpected visit.

"Hey," he greeted. "Dorothy told me you came by last night."

He felt his stomach churn. He had no idea whether Doug had suspected something already.

"Yeah...I just had some beers," he said carefully.

"I know and you owe me."

 _That was close..._

"Sorry."

"It's cool man," said Doug. There was a long silence before he spoke again. "So, did Dorothy have a rant about me?"

"A little yeah."

Doug frowned. "Are we all right?"

He mirrored his expression. "Yeah, why?"

"I expected you to have a lot to say since I hadn't seen you in ages."

"Sorry...I'm just a little tired."

"Apology accepted because your sorry's are beginning to strike a nerve in me," Doug laughed.

 _That's because I really am_ , he thought sadly.

Doug gave him a questioning look. But thankfully, yes thankfully, Dennis Booker caught his attention. He was over at Judy's desk and hitting on her like always.

"I assume that's Dennis Booker."

"Yep."

Dennis wandered over when he caught them looking at him.

"Hey, you must be Doug," Dennis greeted coolly. "Tom talks about you like all the time. Made me wonder if you guys were dating," he teased.

"No, I have a girlfriend," Doug replied in annoyance.

"Yeah but Hamburger here doesn't."

"Go away Book," he said angrily.

"No. It's a free country so I can say and do what I want."

"Maybe in your world."

"Face it Tommy - my world is way better than yours," Dennis shot back. To annoy him even further, he went back to flirt with Judy.

"Jesus. You go through that every day?" Doug commented.

"Unfortunately."

"I'm sorry man. If I was here, I would've straightened him out by now."

"By socking him one? I already done that... didn't work."

"Better try harder."

"He'll probably end up dead."

"It would be blessing."

He laughed. He missed this. He missed spending time with someone who shared the same thoughts and feelings.

Doug looked at his watch then groaned. "I have to make it back but I see you sometime this week okay?"

"Okay..."

 **Chapter three.**

True to his words, he called him over to see him at the end of the week. He should've felt happy but here was one problem... Dorothy.

She kept coming in and out of the room doing housework and taking sneaky glances at him. He felt so awkward, Doug noticed something was off.

"You're acting all weird again," said Doug.

"No I'm not."

"What's going on, man?"

"Nothing..."

"Tom..."

"Nothing!" he snapped.

Doug shot up from the couch then stormed into the kitchen in a huff.

He then heard him talking to Dorothy but the words were too incoherent to hear. But it didn't take a light bulb to figure out they were talking about him.

It made him feel awful, he left without saying goodbye.

He spent the rest of the evening in his apartment, slumped on his couch, and feeling tortured by his complicated problem. It wasn't until his thoughts and worries were stolen by several knocks at the door.

To his surprise, it was Doug. He knew it wasn't going to be a friendly get together because he was stood on his door-step unsmiling.

"I know," said Doug.

"Know what?" he asked uneasily.

"What happened between you and Dorothy."

"I didn't kiss her back Doug, I swear!"

"I know," Doug said calmly. "She broke down and told me the truth right after you left."

Doug let himself in his apartment and stood in center the living room. "I've never been so mad at her. That little witch expected me to forgive her for pulling that stunt," he scowled. "But nope, I dumped her."

He blinked in surprise. "I'm sorry."

It was a big deal because Doug and Dorothy had been inseparable since high school. They broke up once before when Dorothy fell for someone else a few years ago. But Doug promised her he'll always take her back - and he did.

"Don't be because to be honest, you did me a favor. Dorothy drove me absolutely crazy. Now I'm free again and can't wait to meet other girls," Doug said. "You in?"

"I don't know..."

"Come on Hanson, you never know, you could meet the girl of your dreams!"

It's been a year since the love of his life died - Amy Pearson. He tried to move on after her death but it was hard. He couldn't help but feel guily whenever he laid his eyes on another woman.

"Amy was the girl of my dreams," he said sadly.

"I know..." Doug said softly. "But it's been a year and you'll be old before you know it."

True. He was going to be twenty four in five months time. "Okay."

"Okay?" Doug said in surprise. "Great, we can set off now if you like."

He only had to grab his leather jacket and he was out.

"I don't get how quickly you forgave me, Doug," he said when he got into the passenger seat. "I should've told you what happened straightaway."

"I know but I can understand why you didn't because I imagine it wasn't easy in your shoes, having to tell your best friend that his childhood sweetheart cheated," he said bitterly. "I know Dorothy well enough to pull this kind of shit. But you Tom, I know you well enough to trust you because never done me wrong in our three years of friendship."

He smiled. He now knew that Doug will always be there no matter what. It didn't matter about his change of career and the whole mess with Dorothy.


	4. Tom and Jackie break up

**A one shot: Tom and Jackie break up**

 **Genre: Drama.**

 **Characters: Tom, Jackie, Doug.**

 **Warnings: one swear word.**

Tom and Jackie strolled through a local park one evening. They wore long black coats that were quite similar to each others. The clouds were heavy and the surroundings were damp and cold. To prove it was offically Autumn, orange and brown tinted leaves showered over their heads. Tom thought it looked surreal because he had never seen so many leaves fall so fast and all at once.

He snickered when he noticed a leaf sticking out of Jackie's frizzy hair.

"What?" Jackie frowned.

"You've got a leaf in your hair."

She was about to take it out but held her still.

"Here, let me..."

After picking it out, he spontanously pushed her up against the tree to kiss her. But before he had to chance to connect with her lips, she moved her face to the side.

"What's wrong?" he asked, confused.

"I want a break."

"You mean a coffee break or...?"

He knew what she meant really. He just didn't want it to be true.

"A break," she repeated. "It's not working about between us."

"What do you mean?" he asked in surprise and hurt. "We've been doing just fine these past couple of weeks. We went bowling the other day, we had sushi..."

"But there's no passion," she argued. "We act like we're aquaintences, not people in love."

"Do you really think a work partner would push you up against the tree and try and kiss you like I've just did?"

"Most of the time you pretend I'm not even there," she said. "And don't even get me started on our sex life!"

He spluttered a laugh in disbelief. "I can't believe you just said that!"

"Well, it's true and I'm getting real tired of it," she said. "I'm twenty-four years old Hanson and we live our lives everyday as though we are an old married couple nearing to their end of days!"

"Are you saying I'm too boring for you?" he fumed.

She folded her arms and cocked her head at him. "Yes."

"Ok fine, just go!" he snapped angrily. "Just go and fuck your boss or whoever's on your list."

"Davies?" she cried. "Why Davies?"

"I'm not blind or stupid Jackie, I've seen you flirt with him countless times!"

"You know what Hanson? ...It's finished. I will never in my life think about getting back with you again!"

"Well that's a relief!" he shot back.

He stormed off, almost shaking with anger and aching with hurt. He couldn't believe it. He always thought he would be with Jackie, growing old until eighty if it will. Just recently, he seriously thought about proposing to her and been secretly trying to find the perfect ring. He imagined getting married to her by next year and have a kid a year after. But those dreams were now shattered.

He knew Jackie would be at his apartment at some point to gather up her things so he went over to Doug's.

Doug guessed something heavy happened the second he opened the door.

"What's wrong man?"

"Jackie... she broke up with me," he replied, his voice thick with emotion.

His friend grimaced in sympathy. "Oh man, I'm sorry," he apologised. "Want to talk about it over a beer?"

"Sure..."

Seated on the couch with Doug, he told him everything that happened.

"I'm twenty-three years old Doug. How am I going to find a girl to settle down with. A girl who accepts me for the person that I am?"

Doug frowned. "I don't get what you mean."

"If I'm too boring for Jackie then I'm too boring for other girls too."

"You're not boring!"

He shot him an arguing look.

"Well sometimes you are," Doug admitted. "But you're still my best friend Tom, and I'd rather spend the very last days on earth with you than with anybody else."

He smiled. "Thanks Doug. You always seem to know how to make me feel better."

"I hadn't even began to tell you that there are plenty of fish in the sea and anyone one of them will be the girl you are destined to be with," said Doug. "Because Jackie she... I don't think she was your type. She had always been..."

"A bit of a bitch."

"And always been..."

"Bossy too."

"And if anyone could label anyone boring, it'll be her."

After a long talk, he glanced at his watch and saw it was rolling on to nine.

"Are you going?" Doug asked.

"No actually... I know it's a lot to ask, but can I stay here for a while? I just don't want to face being alone in an empty apartment again."

"Not at all," said Doug.

"Thanks. I don't know what I'd do without you."

"Maybe _we_ should get married!" Doug joked.

"If I don't find the right girl in ten years time, I may consider it," he joked back.

"You've got yourself a deal," said Doug. He handed him a can of drink. "And another beer."

"Trying to get me drunk?" her teased.

"Yeah, f you want enough guts to go out and meet girls," said Doug.

He popped open his beer and raised high to celebrate. "Here's to the girl of my dreams tonight!"

His friend raised his beer in return. "That's the spirit!"

 **END**


	5. How Tom met Russell Buckins

**I wanted to know how Tom ever become friends with Russell buckins - the guy from fear and loating with russell buckins (season two) and return in season three. So I wrote a made up one.**

 **Characters: Tom and Doug.**

 **Warnings: just sad.**

"How did you ever become friends with Russell Buckins?" Doug asked.

Doug was looking at him with a big word of WHY written on his face. Why, because Russell Buckins was the complete opposite of him. He was loud, annoying and obnoxious whereas he was sensible, quiet and responsible. Doug was quite similar to him in fact. He was just missing the 'obnoxious' label. Maybe that was why he quickly become friends with him, because he reminded him of Russell in some way.

"It's a long story..." Tom warned.

"Go on."

He sighed as he laid his head back on the couch. "When I was a kid, I've always had trouble making friends. I was a lot more shy back then. Really quiet... kept to myself. I also dressed differently. I didn't wear trendy clothes like everybody else..."

He rolled his head to the side to check if he hadn't fallen asleep. "Still listening?"

"Yep."

"So, I was always the odd one out," he continued, facing away from his friend. "And got bullied. I was pushed around a lot, called names, had my personal stuff destroyed...ever since I could remember. One break time at school, I was outside, under a tree and read a book when I got hit by a football. The guy who did it, whether accidentally or not, was Russell Buckins. he came over and apologised. And then asked me why I'm so quiet and why don't I have any friends. I didn't have an answer for that. But he still took interest in me and began talking to me more and more. I was glad to have him as a friend. Just someone who didn't laugh at me for once. He also helped to bring me out of my shell a bit. He was...the only friend I ever made when I was a kid." He turned to Doug. "So there you have it."

"But I heard you guys didn't see each other for quite a while - what happened?"

"Things were really bad for me when I was sixteen... because I lost the most important person in the world...my dad. I also had to help my mom because she got sick from grief. Russell tried to help me all he could but...I just couldn't cope. I was always angry, always crying, always wishing he would come back. Russell didn't know what to do and began to distance himself from me. I didn't blame him for that because I even wanted to distance away from myself."

"I'm sorry..." Doug said softly.

"It's okay... Sixteen ended and I managed to graduate. Russell began talking to me again and we got accepted at the same college. I studied law and he studied jounalism."

"And then?"

"Then that was it. I finished college and went straight to the academy while Russell moved to New York to become a journalist."

Doug looked at him sympathetically. "I didn't know it was going to be so sad..."

"Sorry," he laughed. "I should've warned you, shouldn't I?"

His friend shrugged. "It must have been hard to tell me all that so... thank you."

"You're welcome."

 **END**


	6. The French girl

_So what if Tom Hanson falls in love with Vanessa Paradis? Pretty similar to my other story 'brown lens'._

 _By the way, I've never been to France so I can't really describe it. I've never been anywhere out of England in fact. (lame I know)_

 _Characters: Tom, Doug, Vanessa paradis!_

 _Set between season two and season three._

 _Genre: Romance._

 _Warnings: one swear word._

Tom was on a vacation with his Doug for the first time ever. They had been best friends for almost two years years and strengthened to the point where they saw themselves more than just work partners. When Doug suggested they should spend two weeks in France, he didn't hesitate. He badly needed some time off because work was getting too emotionally draining. He thought being an undercover cop was probably the hardest job in the world because there were no boundaries when it come to his own safety. He didn't think he got paid enough either and had to save eight paychecks to afford a vacation.

He thought France was a beautiful country compared to the rough grey streets of Vancouver. His parents took him to France when he was a kid but the memories were pretty vague. He remembered the warm fresh crusts of croissants and bread rolls and the calm surroundings and people. Today was no different.

"I could live here," he told Doug.

But his words went through one ear and out of the other because his friend was too busy checking out the french women.

Obviously that was the reason why his friend chose France.

They wandered around to find a place to stay but unfortunately, most of them had no vacancies. Tired from jetlag, and tired from walking, they took the next available one; a luxury hotel not far from the Eiffell tower. It had a rose gold and marble decor and there was an actual bellboy at the entrance.

They looked at each other. And without words they said, _why the hell not? This is a time to treat ourselves after suffering a whole year of blood, sweat and tears!_

But once they got through the glass doors, they had second thoughts. The room was filled with glamourous and wealthy people. And one of those wealthy people gave them a dirty look. She was an old lady wearing a geniune fur coat. They looked poor compared to these people because they had tattered rucksacks by their sides and wore casual clothes. His friend looked nervous - especially when he noticed he had a brown stain on his shirt from god knows where.

He went to the front desk and ask for a room while Doug was busy finding ways to conceal the stain.

"We don't have rooms with single beds," the receptionist said. "But we have double."

He was mad because he specifically asked for single beds so he wouldn't have to share with Doug.

"I'm not keen on sharing a bed with you because you snore, you fidget and you stink," he told Doug as they made their way to their room.

"I don't stink!" Doug cried out defensively.

But once he saw the room, he calmed down. It was the best room they could get because it had a view of the Eiffell tower right out the window. Not only that, there was complimentary box of chocolates and miniture alchohol bottles stocked in the fridge.

He thought it was strange being so far from home. And also strange that for once, they weren't sneaking around for bad guys with an undercover alias.

After a long rest at the hotel, they went back out again to discover other parts of the city.

"I haven't seen any frog legs yet," said Doug.

"Why, are you going to try it?"

"I think I might actually," Doug replied. "Because you know I can eat anything," he said, patting his stomach.

He scoffed. "I can't believe that!"

But when they stopped at a resturant, Doug didn't order frog legs, but something he was familiar with - chips.

"I thought we were supposed to try their cuisine?" Tom belitteled.

"But I wan't chips!" said Doug. "But _you_ can try legs if you want."

The problem was, the rest of the menu was all in french so he picked something random and hoped for the best.

It was an octopus.

He groaned in disgust. It was slimy and had long tentacales and everything. Doug chuckled at his expense while he enjoyed every bit of his golden, crispy chips.

When Tom stuck his fork in the octopus, the skin didn't break. He knew then he would only eat this thing if it was the last food on earth.

"I thought we were supposed to try their cuisne?" Doug mocked.

"Shut up."

His stomach rumbled as he watched Doug scoff down the chips.

"Can I have some?"

"But I'm hungry!" Doug protested. But gave him half anyway.

After eating, they ordered another beer. Just for old times sake.

He scanned the room and stopped dead at these four men that where seated around a table. They wore business suits and had a brief case laid on the table. His imagination went wild and believed these men were gangsters and were doing something illegal in the centre of the restuarant.

"I keep thinking I'm on a case right now," he told Doug, without tearing his eyes away.

His friend laughed. "I think you've got problems."

He broke his gaze and looked at his friend. "But do you really blame me? Back home, when we weren't working on a case, we had to constantly watch our backs."

"True, but the whole point of this vacation is have a break from it."

"I thought the whole idea of the vacation was for you to meet french girls?"

Doug crimsoned. "Oh well...that too."

"I knew it."

"Can't a guy dream?"

He once dreamed of falling in love with a nice girl. Once, because he already had his dream girl before she was cruelly taken from his life around eight months ago. Amy Pearson. She had all the things that made him love her over and over. And all those things he could never forget. One of the few things he remembered was her sweetness, compassion and humor. He hadn't mentioned Amy to Doug since because it wasn't easy to talk about. It was back then when he fell apart in everybody's eyes before he could stop it. Three point three seconds...was the time he could've saved her life.

Over time, he realised the only way he could've saved her was jumping in front of her and take the bullet himself. And even though he got justice by finding her killer himself, he still struggled to move on. And by moving on, he meant the fear of giving his heart to another girl.

CHAPTER TWO.

France had everything he could hope for. The sun, the shimmering blue sea, the hot sun, the beauty of the arts and culture. Doug would have agreed if it wasn't for his inability to pick up french girls. His friend blamed it was because of the language barrier - but he knew better. These women _were_ able to speak English. They just pretended not to!

He never got lucky with them either until one evening...

He decided to have a wander around the hotel because his patience had run short with Doug. His friend was watching football with the volume up too loud and his old socks was stinking the room out.

He made his way down the hall when he saw a back. An exposed back walking ahead of him. He moved his eyes away from the bare flesh and noticed this woman was wearing a black dress that was low cut on the back. She was walking swiftly, and confidently. Suddenly, she turned.

The first thing he noticed was her green eyes. He had never seen eyes so green before. They were almost unreal...bewitching. She also had long blond hair. She looked quite young despite the adult dress. Around eighteen years old or even less.

"Hi, I'm looking for the lift. Do you know where to find it?"

She had a strong french accent spoken through the upper gap in her teeth. He was so mesmerised, he almost forgot what she asked.

"Um, I pretty sure it's back here," he replied, waving to the direction where he just walked.

"Thank you," she smiled.

He followed her, feeling as though he had a hook clinging on his clothes. "I think I'll walk with you... I'm going downstairs anyway."

"Okay."

He took sneaky glances at her while they walked. He wanted to say something else to her but was afraid of saying something stupid.

But when they got into the lift, they had no choice but face each other. She was staring at him and he was staring at her.

"Are you on holiday?" she asked.

"Yeah," he replied. "I came here all the way from Vancouver."

"Is that in America?" she asked.

"Yes."

"That's cool," she replied, genuinely impressed.

And that was it. That was the end of their conversation before she left through the doors of the hotel.

"I saw the most beautiful girl..." he told Doug. He returned to his room straight after he met her. He was so lovestruck, he didn't care about the loud, stinky room any more.

"Did you talk to her?"

"I did."

He laid back on the bed and sighed with content.

"And?"

His smile faded. "Nothing," he replied. "I didn't catch her name either."

"You're a fool Tom Hanson," said Doug. "You finally found a girl that spoke English and you let her get away!"

He didn't say anything. His friend still didn't know that girls he spoke to really did know English but he didn't tell him because if these women needed an easy ticket to decline to his advances, then why not?

He hoped to bump into the girl, whatever her name was. She may not look anything like Amy but that didn't stop his heart from beating again.

CHAPTER THREE

He kept his eyes open for the girl the next day and the next... Until finally, he found her sitting at the bar when he was having lunch with Doug at the hotel. She wasn't wearing a dress this time. But jeans and an oversized pink shirt. The clothes made her look even younger. But if she was drinking, then she was surely be eighteen.

"Oh my god Doug, she's right over there."

Doug looked around. "Who?"

"The girl I was telling you about," he replied, pointing her out with his eyes. "That's her...the blond one."

"Damn!" Doug commented. "She's a total babe!"

He sent a kick to Doug's shin for being too loud. "Shut up!"

His friend let out a silent ouch then frowned at him.

"Are you going to talk to her?" Doug asked after a long while.

He was biting his nails with second thoughts. "I don't know what to say."

"Just use one of my pick up lines."

He shot him a look. "They never work."

Doug pouted. "True... but they'll work on the right ones."

After a while, he picked up enough nerve to go up to the girl. Mostly because he had enough of his friend calling him a wimp.

His breath caught in his throat when the emerald eyes returned back to his gaze when he went up to her.

"Oh! Hello again," she said in surprise.

"Hi..." he greeted back awkwardly.

He learned that being a creep like Doug never worked with women so he ordered a drink to make her believe he didn't just go over there to pick her up. He gingerly sat down next to her and looked at what she was drinking. It was coke. He wanted to ask how old she was but didn't want to offend her.

He turned his head and caught Doug giving him the thumbs up. He looked at the girl and picked up his second nerve.

"What's your name?"

"Vanessa," she replied. "Yours?"

"Tom Hanson," he answered. He offered a handshake which she returned back. "What brings you here at this hotel?"

"I travel around a lot," she replied.

Her answer may have been short, but her eyes were locked with his and was twinkling...

"Listen uh, do you want to do something? Catch a movie or...bowling?"

She smiled. "I like the sound of bowling."

He _loved_ bowling because before his dad died, he taught him to play as soon as he was able to pick up the bowling balls himself. And he never stopped bowling since. He had his own league and bowled every Saturday.

"Great," he smiled back. "Would you know of any around here?"

She nodded. "I do but it'll be quite a walk."

They abadoned his drinks and went off together.

Doug of course, gave him two thumbs up.

On their way there, she had her head down. Like she was hiding from someone or something... but he quickly shook his thoughts away when he realised he had his cop hat on again.

The bowling alley was startingly similar like the one back home. It was a remedy for his home sickness for sure.

On their first game, he got a strike but restrained from yelling out 'slamerino' like he always did because Doug told him many times it was embarrassing and a right turn off.

"You're really good!" Vanessa clapped.

"I bowl a lot back home so..." he trailed off. Doug also told him boasting about being in a league was also a turn off!

Vanessa had her first go and got five pins down.

"You're good too."

"Really? The last time I bowled was about three years ago," she replied. "I'd still like to get a strike though."

She looked at him with a high meter of competitiveness. She managed to get a strike or two but he was the winner at the end of the game.

"I've bowled ever since I was a kid," he explained.

"That explains it," she teased.

"Sorry...I guess bowling was a silly idea."

"No, not at all," she beamed. "In fact I'd like another game. I like watching you play."

His eyebrows lifted. "Really?"

She covered her mouth slightly when smiled. She did that quite a lot. He didn't know if it was because she was self concious about the gap in her teeth. But if it was, she had no reason to worry about it because he liked it. It set her apart from the crowd.

He tried to limit himself on the second game to let her win. He never did that for anybody so it felt quite weird to lose against one girl. After the game, they had burger and fries in the diner. Again, she was hiding her face. Not her mouth, but half of her face with her hand.

"It's something wrong?" he asked.

She shook her head.

She looked happy enough though so he left it.

They talked about a lot of stuff as they ate. He really thought something was there because they couldn't tear their eyes away from each other. He never felt so happy. Before Amy, he didn't have much luck with women. He had a brief fling with an English teacher when he first began Jump Street. He also had one girlfriend back in high school but it didn't work out.

Their date...was perfect. And he felt normal for once. He wasn't a cop who lied about his identity on a daily basis but Tom Hanson SR, a nerdy guy who bowls.

He didn't even think about Amy Peason.

Before they parted back at the hotel, they mutally kissed goodbye.

And by kiss, he meant a real one. The one where sparks flew.

He retuned back to his hotel room in a daze. It quite obvious to his best friend he got lucky.

"We kissed."

"Congratulations man!"

He sat on the bed beside him and shared the viewing of some thriller movie. "I never thought about Amy once when I was with her."

Doug smiled. There was a bit of sympathy in it. A bit of awkwardness too. "You've never mentioned Amy in months."

"I know... that's because it's hard to talk about," he replied. "But what I'm saying is, her death played a role in my love life. I thought I could never look at another woman without feeling guilty. But you know what? I had no guilt when I was this girl, Vanessa."

"It sounds pretty serious already!" Doug commented. "Are you planning to take her back home?"

"She's not some souvenir Doug!" he frowned. But stopped to think. "But really, I honestly never thought about taking her back. Don't get me wrong, I really like her. It's just, when I was with her, I felt like I was home."

"That's love right there!"

He smirked. "I'll just go with the flow...and see what happens."

CHAPTER FIVE.

' _Go where life takes you_ ' was the words his mother used to say. He didn't find any meaning to those words because becoming a cop didn't happen by chance. He was led into it because his father was a cop. But the thing with the girl, it applied because had no idea where their relationship was going to go.

On his second date with her, they went to see a movie. Because it was all in french, it was hard to follow the plot. But basically it was about some guy kicking a lot of asses.

"What the heck is this about?" he whispered while the movie played.

"Sorry I forgot you don't understand french," she giggled. "The title in english is called Road House. And so far, it's about a guy wokrking as a bouncer in the worst bar in town and just...kicks bad guys butts basically."

 _Sounds like what I do for a living!_ he thought. He never told Vanessa what he did for a living because he didn't feel it mattered. When he was with her, he was just Tom and his whole other life was five miles away and across the ocean.

He spent so much time with Vanessa from then on, he barely had time to see his friend. He felt bad because Doug had no one to spend leisure time with.

"Really Doug, does it bother you?" he asked the second time.

"Not at all. I like seeing you happy," Doug replied coolly. "But..."

 _A but? Oh here goes..._

"Will you be able to bring yourself to say goodbye to the girl when we leave in three days?"

His expression creased in sadness. "Three days? I didn't realize how quickly the days went."

He could feel his heart breaking as his head in the clouds crashed back down to reality. He didn't want to, but he had to go back. His job was far too important and his captain would beat on his head if he extended his holiday.

He didn't think Vanessa would come back with him either. They only known each other for eight days.

He tried to push the harsh reality at the back of his head and continued his whirlwind romance with her.

They shared an extra large sundae at a coffee shop one afternoon. While they ate and talked, she was hiding her face again.

"Why do you do that?" he frowned.

"Do what?" she asked innocently.

"Hide your face in public?"

She removed her hand and smiled sheepishly. "I have a confession to make..." she began. "I've been staying at the hotel because I'm working on an album with someone. I'm quite well known around here for my singing career... I was the one who sung Joe Le Taxi."

He almost choked on his sundae because he knew that song quite well! Even though the pop song was sung entirely in French in her sugar laced voice, it caught worldwide attention. He remembered the song constantly being played on the radios a few years back. Even though she never had any more hits that he knew of, Joe Le Taxi remained a classic.

"That was you?"

She nodded.

His stunned reaction quickly dwindled however when he realized the reality of the situation. The media would take pictures of them together and fight to find out his name and what he did for a living. The reveal could risk his job and even his own life if found out.

Her eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "Many guys would've found it cool to date someone famous. Does it bother you?"

"Well I... I have confession to make as well..." he said. "I'm a cop."

She edged forward in sudden interest. "Really?"

"Yes, I work undercover in high schools because I look young for my age."

She rose her eyebrows in surprise. "Oh. I guessed you were the same age as me. I'm sixteen."

"I'm really twenty three," he said. "So... it's important that I don't attract attention outside of work because anyone I bust would be looking out for revenge."

"Really?"

"Yeah. My captain had fought more than once to get my face and name out of the press."

She gave him a funny look. "You're not pulling my leg are you?"

He pulled out his badge and showed his ID.

She took it in her hands and gawped at it.

"Why didn't you tell me?" she asked.

"Because I feel normal when I'm with you... I forgot who I was and what I did for a living."

She lowered the badge from her eyes. "Me too."

CHAPTER SIX

He came bursting through the door of his hotel room, breathless with excitement. "You never guess what Doug!"

Doug was startled from his outburst. He was stood in the middle of the room with his head wrapped in a towel. He also had a tooth brush stuck in his mouth.

"What?"

"I've been dating a famous singer the whole time!" he confessed. "This girl Vanessa...she's Vanessa Paradis. The girl who sung Joe Le Taxi."

The toothbrush fell right out of Doug's mouth. "Holy shit!" his friend cried.

He scanned his face. Wondering what the curse word really meant, whether it was a good or bad thing. Or whether he found it cool. Or whether he was even jealous.

"What are you going to do?" Doug asked.

"I don't know..." He sat on the bed in thought. "We both agreed that dating each other wasn't the best idea because of my job. But she never actually broke it off with me."

"You should probably tell her to break it off because it would put your job on the line."

"But... you didn't think it was cool, about knowing a famous girl?"

"I would've... if you wasn't a cop."

He gave him a mournful look. "Why does my job have to take the most reins of my life? I'm sure I would've been married with kids by now if being a cop wasn't so consuming and hectic. It's the same for the girl really..."

"Which would make your romance with her clash in a bad way. Her job is to face the world whereas our job is to hide in the shadows."

He sighed.

"But listen... you'll meet another girl. You've already taken the first step in moving on from Amy."

 _But how could I ever find someone like her? There was one one girl in the world who has green eyes, a gap tooth smile who sings in French._

But when he thought about it, he realized he thought the same thing about Amy Pearson. And now look what happened, he fell in love again.

"When we get back home, I'm gonna mend that heart of yours by taking you out to meet another girl. That's a promise."

"Thanks Doug."

CHAPTER SEVEN

"I have decided... I'm going back," he told Vanessa over breakfast.

She nodded. She looked hardly surprised but quite hurt. "That's a shame."

"I know. I don't want to but... it's my job," he said. "It takes everything from me. It cuts up my freedom...and there's nothing I can do about it."

"I understand."

To prove there were no hard feelings, she took his hand. It should've made him feel better but it only made him feel worse. He didn't want to let her go...

On the last day, he had everything packed and ready to leave. Vanessa had to stay at the hotel but spent a good deal of time with him before their taxi arrived.

He realized Vanessa never met Doug properly so he introduced them.

"I never knew what the Joe le Taxi song was about," Doug said to her.

"It's about this girl who knows this taxi driver named Joe. He plays a saxophone. And he drives her around the city of France."

The coincidence made heart hammer against his chest. He learned to play the saxophone when he was ten years old. He still played in fact and had the instrument back at his apartment.

"I play the saxophone!"

"And you're waiting for your taxi right now!" Vanessa laughed.

"I'll miss you," he said suddenly.

Her smile faded. "I miss you too," she said. "But you never know, we could bump into each other again if it's destiny."

"Or if not... I have your hit to remember you by."

She took a step forward with a smile on her face. "Tom the taxi."

He smiled back, feeling butterflies in his stomach. He then leaned down to kiss her. And the butterflies flew.

 **THE END.**


	7. Bob's Cafe

_**Genre: drama/angst**_

 _ **Warnings: Depressing!**_

 _ **Characters: Tom/Doug**_

 _ **Summary: Doug chooses a place to eat for a lunch, a place where Tom's father was murdered.**_

 _Story:_

 _Out of all the fifty six cafes in the city of Vancouver, why did Doug have to pick this one?_ Tom thought. _Why?_

Tom and Doug had to meet with the DA in relation of a case they had been working on. It stole a good few hours of their morning and was hair-tearingly boring. After it was over, they were left hungry and thirsty. They were supposed to head back to Jump Street but decided to fuel themselves up with food and drink first.

Doug drove around in his yellow truck, looking for somewhere to eat before drawing up on the side of the road.

The place Doug chose, was a cafe Tom knew quite well...

He swallowed down the nausea that arose from his stomach. The cafe was repainted in white and there was a sign that said _Bob's cafe_ in bold, red letters.

"Can't we go somewhere else?" Tom asked his best friend.

"They serve really good chips and they are affordable too, so why not?" Doug said, withdrawing his key from the ignition.

"You've been in there before?" he asked.

He failed to hide the surprise in his voice because it wasn't a place that people often go. Let alone talk about. At least, he didn't think.

"Sure, have you?"

"No...not really," he replied. "But there's plenty of other cafes Doug."

Doug's trademarked, slanted eyebrows knitted together into a frown. "Don't be so picky."

"I'm not picky. It's just - " his argument was cut short when Doug made a move to get out of his truck. "I'm just saying that there's plenty of other places," he continued until Doug slammed the car door in his face.

He couldn't believe Doug had the nerve to turn his blind eye on him. He irritably got out of the car to resume with his argument. "Aren't you listening to me?" he seethed.

Doug turned around. "Sure I'm listening," he said in an annoyed tone.

"Okay, so, why don't we go somewhere else like Rocket Dogs? I mean, you love Rocket Dogs!"

"Tom, Rocket Dogs is at least another three miles!"

"Yeah but, we went past at least ten cafes Doug and I'm sure there's another two down the next road so why don't - " but his protests crumbled down to nothing when he realized he accidentally followed his friend into the cafe. He knew then, he couldn't argue any more without getting dirty looks from the locals. There were two people having an all day breakfast, and in the corner, was an older man reading from a newspaper.

He only seen the outside of the cafe once... His mother drove him there so they could lay a bouquet of flowers outside. It was four months after his dad's death. and he could barely breathe from so much grief. He agreed to go at first because he hoped to feel his presence and to see the last thing his dad saw in his surroundings other than a mad man with a bullet. But when they got there, he just broke down in the passenger seat and refused to get out.

 _"I can't...I can't do it mom!" he sobbed in the passenger seat._

 _"Honey please, we'll just be a minute," his mother pleaded._

 _She had a bouquet of lilac, peach and cream flowers resting in her arm along with a goodbye letter they both wrote._

 _"Your father would have liked to see you here."_

 _"But his dead mom! He died right here and he's never coming back!" he cried out with tears spilling out of his eyes._

 _"I know Tommy...I know," she, herself, started to sob._

He never went back there again... until now.

It looked like any ordinary cafe. It was rather small, with a classic taste of red leather seats and round tables. The walls had little trucks pictured across the wallpaper and there were two framed pictures of vintage cars. He could see why his dad loved this place because he was a car enthusiast himself. And he had his ice-blue 1968 mustang to prove it.

As soon as they seated, his friend picked up the menu and let his eyes skim through it. There was another menu for him to take but he didn't bother because he didn't feel like eating.

"What are you having?" Doug asked.

"I don't know... I'll just have what you're having."

Doug gave him a bemused glance from the menu. "Oh yeah, because you have a problem with being too picky," he jibed.

He ended up having fried egg and chips. Doug also ordered coke and he took the initiative to choose black coffee.

While they waited for the food to arrive, his eyes wandered around the cafe.

Big mistake...

Even though he wasn't there the night his dad was murdered, he could see him. He could see the image of dad seated at the front table drinking black coffee. He was talking to his partner, Charlie, about how proud he was of his little boy...

 _"Tommy is growing up so fast... I can't believe he's already sixteen. He's at prom with a nice girl and soon he'll be going off to college to study law. I'm so proud of him..."_

His dad craned his neck to take a look at him. His deep blue eyes looked almost sad.

 _"My boy is all grown up. I always thought he would become a cop like me - and he did. It's in his blood after all...our blood..."_

He tried to call out to his dad but he couldn't find his voice. He wanted to tell him he missed him so much, it hurt. Suddenly a man wearing a cap and blue shirt emerged from the back of the cafe and shot Charlie with a gun. The sound of the gun firing off was so loud, it made his ears ring. His dad fired a shot back at the man, hitting his shoulder. But the man fired back hitting his dad in the chest. He collapsed and fell onto his back, dying instantly. Crimson blood pumped from the hole in his chest... a hole where his heart was. There was so much blood oozing from his wound, it began to form into a growing puddle, spreading all over the brown carpet...

"Want any ketchup?"

The vision of his dad lying in his own blood swam away and he found himself back to reality. There was a plate full of chips before him and Doug was holding out a bottle of ketchup, beckoning him to take it. But he didn't want any. The image of red sauce dribbled on his friends chips, haunted him because it reminded him of blood. It made him feel like throwing up or crying - even both.

"I...I have to go to the bathroom."

"Okay, but be quick because I might steal some of your chips," Doug joked.

When he got up, he had to rest his hand against the table to support himself because his legs felt weak. Fortunately, he didn't end up in a messy heap and managed to make his way to the bathroom. Once he locked himself in a stall however, he collapsed onto the floor and let all his emotions spill out in whimpers, sobs and tears.

He didn't know how long he laid on the floor crying but it was long enough to feel his throat and chest ache, and his eyelashes clumped together from shedding so many tears.

Suddenly, he heard the bathroom door swing open.

"Hanson, you in there?" Doug called.

"I'll be right out," he replied as normally as he could.

He wiped away the evidence from his eyes with the back of his hand then flushed the toilet to pretend he had been.

"You alright?" Doug asked.

He averted his eyes while he walked up to the basin to wash his hands.

"You were a long time in there," Doug pointed out. "Were you sick or something?"

He dried his hands with bathroom paper before replying. "Yeah... I-I want to go home."

"Aw man, food poisoning again? Don't worry, I'll take you home," Doug offered with sympathy. "And don't worry about the chips because I already yours," he joked lamely.

When he faced Doug, his expression was creased with concern.

"You look like you've been crying... but correct me if I'm wrong."

"I...just got sick that's all."

He didn't know whether he believed him or not. But it mattered if he did, because he never cried in front of anyone. He hated showing weakness, preferring to show the world he was a hard-nosed tough guy. However, his reliance threatened to tear apart when they made their way through the cafe. And when they were outside in the breeze, he felt broken because he didn't have the chance to say goodbye. A sob escaped his throat and tears retraced their way back. He tried to hide his face but Doug already seen it.

"What's wrong?" Doug asked in alarm.

He knew there was no point hiding anymore.

"My-My dad was murdered in there," he said with a sob.

"Oh my god, Tom I'm sorry!" Doug cried. "Why didn't you tell me? I wouldn't have brought you in there if you told me!"

"I d-don't know..."

Doug gingerly wrapped him into a hug when another sob escaped his throat. "I'm sorry man, I'm sorry," he soothed him.

He didn't feel comfortable being hugged and showing Doug how vulnerable he really was so he awkwardly pulled away.

"I'm sorry for freaking out like that. It's just... I never been in there before because I couldn't bring myself to."

"You don't have to apologize for anything," Doug said gently.

He eyed the cafe, wondering if he could ever set foot in there again without seeing the horrible images play out like a movie. Or whether he would hear his dad say he's proud of him...

"I think...I think I might go back in."

Doug winced. "I don't think that's a good idea."

"But I almost felt close to him."

"Maybe another day, okay?" said Doug. "You're too upset and I imagine you must be exhausted, so it's a good idea if you let me take you home."

He felt himself unravel to give in because he knew he was right. He felt like sleeping off the grief because it hit him way too hard.

"Okay...take me home."

When he got comfortable in the drivers seat, he asked. "Could you take me here tomorrow?"

Doug sighed from behind the wheel. "If you think it helps you, then sure."

He _did_ think it would help because he had always tried to avoid facing his demons by placing a mask upon his face. For many years, he lied and told the world he was okay. He was so afraid of hurting, it come to the point where he hadn't visited his dad's grave in almost two years. And every year, on the anniversary of his fathers death on Valentines day, he would block out the pain by drinking himself to oblivion. He knew it was wrong and he knew he had to start facing his grief.

He had to...

"It's worth trying," he said lastly.


	8. The hat

**the hat**

 **based on Orpheus 3.3 seconds. I remember a scene where Tom gave his hat to a friend of Amy's killer. In season 3, slipping into darkness, Tom/johnny wore the same hat again. So I thought I'll write this to fix the error**

 **Warnings: Depressing!**

 **Genre: angst**

 **Characters: Tom and Doug.**

Doug and Tom spent their evening at a bar outside of town after a long, hard day at work. Tom left the table to order another two drinks. When he returned with the drinks, Doug noticed he had a tea-colored fedora hat tucked under his arm.

"Where did you get that?" he questioned.

Tom didn't reply straightaway. Instead, he set the beers down, sat down, and studied the hat in his hands. It had a huge gaping hole at the top and it looked like it had a ribbon around the rim once - before it was ripped off.

"I lost this a year ago..." Tom trailed off.

"And you just found it?" he asked in surprise.

"Yeah, I saw it in the lost property box from behind the bar," Tom replied. "I never thought I'd reunite with this again."

"It doesn't look like they taken good care of it," he commented. "It looks as though a dog had chewed it up and spat it out."

"It looked like this before I lost it," Tom declared.

He didn't know why, but he felt uneasy, like he could feel something that wasn't there. Something dark.

"I had this hat around the time Amy was killed," said Tom. "The time when I was going crazy over those 3.3 seconds."

Doug shifted uncomfortably. Now he knew why. The darkness was Tom. His friend cracked a year ago when his girlfriend, Amy Pearson, was murdered in front of him. He kept watching the tape of his girlfriend getting shot over and over, consumed by guilt by the fact he couldn't save her in the time stated. He remembered Tom's eyes were like black coals, smudged underneath from lack of sleep, his hair was unwashed and his complexion looked as though blood had been sucked out of it. He didn't know how to help him so he thought it would be easier to ignore him. Tom found his way back after about two months and had been doing okay ever since.

"I had this hat on me when I walked into this bar. I wanted to find the guy who killed Amy. I found someone who knew him and asked where to find him. After he told me he was doing a job, I put this hat on his head to intimidate him then walked out."

He watched as his friend poked his fingers through the gaping hole of the hat.

"I wanted to know if I could tear a hole in this in the time of 3.3 seconds." Tom's eyes connected with his, looking black and lifeless once again. "And you know what? You can do almost anything in 3.3 seconds..."


	9. Three Again

THREE AGAIN

 **Summary: Doug and Judy fear Tom is losing it again**

 **Based on Orpheus 3.3, an episode from season two.**

 **Warnings: angst and one use of bad language.**

"Hey Doug!" Judy called to him from across the room of the Jump Street Chapel. "Can you grab the witness report off Hanson's desk? I need to check it over."

Tom was in Fuller's office and had been in there for past twenty minutes, probably talking about their current case. Tom's desk was usually pin-neat - but not today. Files and papers were jumbled together, there was a coffee stain on the wood, and there was even an half-eaten sandwich he'd forgotten about. It was unlike his best friend to be so untidy because he was known to be a neat-freak. Even his biro's and pencils that he would usually line u[ together in a row, wasn't in place today.

Doug shuffled through the papers that were upon his friend's desk, and found the report buried on the bottom. But before he retrieved it however, something else caught his eye: A sheet of paper with the numbers, 3.3, written all over it...

His heart missed a beat.

He couldn't believe it... His best friend was crazy again.

It had been over a year ago since Amy Pearson, who was Tom's girlfriend, died. He really thought his friend was getting better because it had been so long but the evidence stated otherwise.

"Doug, can you get your butt moving?" Judy said irritably.

He grabbed the evidence of Tom's cracked mentality as well as the report, then carried it over to Judy.

"Jude... I don't think Tom's well."

"Why do you say that?" Judy questioned.

When he showed Tom's numbers and dots penned in black ink, Judy's expression filled with horror.

"Oh my god... I thought he was doing okay?"

"I thought so too," Doug agreed. "But damn it, it's not the first time he pretended he was okay when he's really not!"

"Should we tell Fuller?" Judy asked, worry pinching her face.

"No way," he replied, shaking his head. "We can't betray him like that."

"Then what are we supposed to do, Doug?" Judy cried.

Suddenly, Tom emerged from Fuller's office.

Studying from afar, it was safe to say he looked normal... his facial expression was neutral, he looked healthy, and dressed well, in a blue plaid shirt and jeans. His friend even laughed and joked with him earlier.

But now, he was standing before his desk looking none too happy.

"Okay, whose been messing with my desk?" Tom bristled.

"Judy wanted to take another look at the witness report," he told him.

Tom calmed down in an instant. "Oh right..."

"It's already messy anyway," he teased. Or tried to tease because his tone sounded too flat and awkward.

Tom smiled however. "I think it's about time I should start spring cleaning!"

 _Oh no, he would see the paper is no longer there!_ Doug's mind whirled in horror.

"Wait - I'll do it for you!" he offered, jumping to his feet.

Tom looked at him with a bemused expression. "Doug Penhall - clean my desk? Please wake me up because I think I'm dreaming!"

But Tom's chuckle cut short when he seemed to realized no one was laughing with him.

"What's going on guys?" Tom questioned.

"Well...Hanson...-" Judy started.

"Nothing much!" Doug interrupted.

Tom shot them a look, clearly noticing they were acting odd. "Well, if you don't mind..." said Tom. "I'm just gonna start cleaning up."

Doug held his breath, expecting the worse. While his friend was bringing his papers together, he glanced over at Judy and saw she was holding her breath as well. When Tom corrected the very last item on his desk with no adverse reaction, they let it out their breaths in a sigh.

Doug leaned over to whisper to Judy. "Should I return it to his desk later and hope he still hadn't noticed?"

"No, I really think we should hang on to it just in case we need it to show to Fuller or something."

He didn't feel like hanging on to it. In fact, he wanted to burn it. He wished he hadn't of found it in the first place because now, he was hit with full fledged worry.

A year ago, after Amy Pearson died, Judy told him she visited Tom's apartment and it was a wreck. There were clothes left on the floor, smashed glass, and one too many empty beer cans scattered around. The fact that Tom wasn't really a drinker disturbed her enough, but the fact he had a video tape of his girlfriend getting killed and watched it over a hundred times, disturbed her even more.

She said Tom incohently rambled about all the things he could do in 3.3 seconds, the seconds he believed he could have saved Amy's life. She said she ended up bursting into tears because he was acting so erratic and so out of character.

After she told him this, he stayed well away from him. He refused to see him out of work and whenever he was around, he walked on eggshells. Even though they were best friends and told each other everything, he didn't think he could help him because 'he was no psychiatrist.'

He also had a fear of hospitals, stopping him from seeing Tom altogether when he was in one, over being shot in the arm by Amy's killer after he tried hunting him down.

Judy told him, that even though Tom was had the best care at the hospital, the wound got infected and he picked up a fever. Doug didn't see him, even then. He couldn't help it because his fear of hospitals and mental illness stemmed from his own personal experience.

Ever since Doug was a little kid, he knew his mom wasn't like the other moms... she would scream and physcially harm herself for no reason. When she wasn't acting crazy, she was the best mom in the world. She would hug him, read bedtime stories and tell him he loved him.

His father on the other hand, happened to be a priest and tried to 'fix' his mother, believing she had something evil inside of her. When his mother killed herself when he was six years old, he contemplated whether it was her illness that drove her to do it, or whether his father was to blame for all the torment he put her through. Either way, when she was gone, his world ripped apart. He wouldn't let anyone tie his shoelaces because his mom used to tie them. And after school, he would sit on the wall until it got dark because he didn't want to go home and see she wasn't there.

When he told Tom about the dark side of his childhood, he was saddened for him. But when he mentioned he tried to kill himself by drinking a whole bottle of vanilla extract, Tom said _"that's kind of cute."_ His friend was supposed to be smart but that was probably one of the dumbest things he ever said. Because it wasn't supposed to be cute.

Four months after Amy's death, Tom slowly made his way back and never mentioned Amy again. He looked better, he began to laugh and smile... And when he saw the flicker of life return to his eyes, he knew he had come back. Once he knew, he resumed his friendship with him. And back to the way it was, forgetting the lost time between them never happened.

Doug allowed Judy hold onto the evidence for the time being then returned to his desk. Tom was at his own desk writing something.

He sincerely hoped wasn't a load of crazy ramblings again. But the fact his friend was looking so secretive, made him ponder if he actually was because he was hunched over, and shielding whatever he was writing with his arm. Hoping he was wrong, he edged closer to catch a glimpse, while still in his seat. Nothing. He leaned closer. Nothing yet. He moved again, almost falling out of his desk.

"What are you doing, Penhall?" Tom exasperated, immediately stopping writing to glare at him with deadpan.

Now Tom was no longer concealing what he was writing, he grabbed the opportunity to take a peek. To his relief, he saw it was just a report regarding police matter.

"Uh, nothing," Doug responded sheepishly.

Tom shot him a frown before resuming with his work.

Doug watched him attentively, taking note of the brown locks that fell over his face as he leaned over his desk, before noticing he was gently nibbling at his lip while he concentrated.

He remembered Judy said Tom admitted he watched the recording from the store camera of Amy's death hundred and twenty-two times, 'maybe more', flustering over the fact he wasted those 3.3 seconds in the tape because he just stood there, not knowing what to do.

But quite honestly, there was nothing he could have done except jump in front of Amy and take the bullet himself. He had always wondered if Tom wished he did, but it wasn't a question he could ever ask.

"What?!" Tom cried, evidently annoyed.

He had no idea how long he had been staring at his friend in thought, but it was long enough for him to obviously notice. He slipped out a 'sorry' before concentrating on his own work.

When lunchtime followed through, he went to Rocket Dogs with Tom like any other work day. They both lived for the grease-filled junk food, not heeding the fact it was known for its food poisoning. They ordered their usual favorite, a value burger meal, then sat down to eat.

That time, when Tom was grieving over Amy's death, the weight he lost was noticeable. His clothes were ill-fitting and his chiseled cheekbones were even sharper. He had a pale complexion and there were shadows lurking under his eyes. Even though it worried him, he still didn't intervene. Sure, he asked if he was okay, despite how blatantly obvious that he wasn't.

But the fact he wasn't actually 'there' as a friend, whacked him with guilt. His friend had no one else and the only ones who visited him, was Judy and Fuller - but as far as he knew, they only visited him at his apartment once.

Tom never asked him why he wasn't there as a friend when he was hurting... and their friendship hadn't been cracked in any way - at least, he didn't think.

"Okay, what is with you today Penhall?" Tom suddenly snapped. "You've been looking at me weirdly morning! I even had to look in the mirror to see if there was anything out of the ordinary!"

"I just - "

 _I found a piece of paper with 3.3 all over it and I'm afraid you're getting nuts on me again,_ he wanted to say. But he couldn't say it because he was afraid of how he would react. He wouldn't like it. Not one bit.

"What?" Tom questioned.

He scrambled for an excuse and took the first one that popped in his head. "Can I have some of your chips?"

A smile formed across Tom's face before turning into a laugh. "You're such a pig Penhall!"

Tom had a conflicted relationship with Amy from the very beginning. He met her when he tried to become a big brother. He told him Amy came by his apartment so she could process his application - but she ended up kissing him instead. Tom said he was a little annoyed at first because he barely even knew her and she barely knew him - yet she kissed him. And he laughed when Tom told him he pissed her off after he accused her of seducing him, pointing out her clothes were too attractive.

He believed Tom didn't love her as much as she loved him because he didn't tell her things - like that time he went off with his crazy old friend Russell Buckins for three days to crash his ex-girlfriends wedding. Or that time when, instead of going on a skiing trip with Amy like any normal person would do, he went undercover in a teenage drug and alcohol abuse center without telling anyone.

He didn't even tell her why he hated Valentines Day, resulting in a big fight.

Valentines Day happened to be the anniversary of his father's death. He died when Tom was just sixteen years old.

Like Amy, he was shot in the chest by a thief, with intention to rob money from out of the till. The difference was, his father was shot in a cafe whereas Amy was shot in a convenience store.

Doug found it cruel that both of his loved ones suffered the same fate.

After Tom told them the story of how his father was killed, and admitting he never told Amy why he hated Valentines Day, Doug and Judy told him he should owe Amy an explanation.

But whether he did or not, they didn't know.

The night Amy got shot, Tom was going to break up with her because 'there was no passion left'. But he mulled over the fact he didn't want to hurt her because he still cared about her. He remembered he tried to convince Tom that morning, telling him it was best to break up with her if she was driving him so crazy.

In the end, Tom didn't break up with her. She cruelly taken from his life before he had the chance to.

After she died, he proclaimed his love for her, and he said;

 _"I didn't love her... In fact, I was going to break up with her... But now that she's gone, I love her."_

 **Chapter 2.**

It had been three days since they discovered the paper with the 3.3's. During that time, he made sure to look out for any odd behavior. But so far, he found nothing. Tom seemed generally happy and looked fine.

He even nosed around at his desk to make any new discoveries - but there were none. He was neither relieved or disappointed because just wanted the truth... and wished he could get inside Tom's head and find it.

Tom wasn't dumb. He knew something was up and didn't hesitate to question him one time when they were having Rocket Dog's at lunch.

"You've been acting weird around me lately, what's up?" Tom asked.

"I haven't been acting weird," he replied, awkwardly chuckling.

"Yes you have," Tom argued. "Every time I look at you, I catch you looking at me, you've been nosing at my personal stuff, I hear my name being dropped a lot between you and Judy and I see you two looking my way a lot... so what's the deal?"

Even though it was hardly surprising that his friend noticed all those things because he was a cop and everything, it still surprised him.

"Look..." Tom began. "If you're trying to muster enough courage to ask me out on a date, you're not having one," he lightly teased.

"Of course not!" he cried.

"Well, if it's not that, then what is it?"

He tucked in his lips which made Tom grow more irritable.

"You know, I shouldn't have to tell you this... But we're best friends and you shouldn't be afraid to tell me anything."

Those words were enough to cut a key and open his heart. "Okay my question is..." But he paused because he couldn't say it. Instead, he asked the easiest question. "Are you okay?"

Tom threw his head back in surprise. "Of course I'm okay! Why'd you ask?"

He shrugged awkwardly. "I don't know..."

"Did I do something? Say something - what?"

And then he had to use the meaning of that key...

"I...found something on your desk."

"The piece of paper with the three point three's scrawled all over, I take it?"

"You know?" he cried in surprise.

"Of course I know! And it didn't take long to notice either," Tom replied in annoyance. "And before you say or think anything, it was written months ago. I just kept it so I can look back on it, to see how far I've come."

"Are you telling the truth?"

"Yes!" Tom cried. "I wouldn't have left it lying around if I knew someone would find it, get freaked out and make me see psychiatrist again."

"Sorry... It's just I was afraid... afraid the three point three seconds would come back and I'll lose you again."

"Believe me, I wouldn't like to go back there either," Tom said. "I slipped up and fell into the cracks far too many to count - but trust me, I hadn't in a long, long time."

He felt himself relax because he knew he was telling the truth. He could see it in his eyes.

"I..." he began. "I want to apologize for not being there for you, when you were hurting. I know I should have but...I don't know. I didn't know what to do."

Tom shrugged. "It's okay. I know you well enough to know you didn't do it on purpose. You had your own fears to battle and I respect that."

"But Tom...you needed me."

"I did but..." Tom trailed off, looking sullen. "I got over it myself just fine."

"Are you sure? I mean..." He paused to realize he opened up one of his fears and felt ready to tackle it. "You can talk to me."

"Really?"

He nodded. "You can tell me anything because I'm gonna stop being a wimp, okay?"

"Okay well..." Tom started in thought. "I do remember making Judy cry when I lost it. It confused me because back then, I thought I was being rational with my reasoning's but Judy was... she was scared... of me and that confused me."

"What about those three point three's you wrote?"

Tom winced. "That _was_ irrational I must admit, because I don't even remember writing it. It was just a normal day, I was at my desk, and I was going to write a letter to somebody. I had a pen in my hand and a blank piece of paper ready in front of me... But I let my mind wander off because I didn't know how to begin. But when I fell back down, I realised I fucked it up with all these numbers - and it terrified me."

He felt his discomfort deepen because it wasn't pleasant to listen to

"Sorry...I revealed too much didn't I?" said Tom.

"No, no, its okay," he reassured him. "So was it just that one time?"

"I'm really not sure. If something like that happened before, then who knows what else I could have done," Tom replied. "But rest assured, I know I'm fine - otherwise I would've have been told."

"What about the paper? Do you want it back?"

"Not really..." Tom replied. "I'd like to forget about it and move on if anything. Not to forget about Amy... but the guilt of not being able to save her. Because I know now that I couldn't. Not without..."

"Taking the bullet," he continued for him.

"Yeah..." said Tom quietly.

To clear the air that become dark and tense, he quickly changed the subject. "We should probably head back," he told him. "Before Judy shows it to Fuller!"

"She has it?" Tom grimaced. "I don't trust anything with her because she's captain Fuller's pet!"

"Don't worry, I'm sure she wouldn't tell him."

Tom shook his head. "Even so, I want it destoyed."

When they got back to the Chapel, Tom was about to go up to Judy, who was standing by the coffee machine, to request her to destroy it but hung back.

"I feel embarassed about it Doug," said Tom. "Could you ask her for me?"

While Tom stood back in the distance, he went over to Judy.

"Hey Jude," he greeted.

"Hey Doug," she greeted back, slowly stirring her coffee.

"I had a talk with Tom and he's fine," he told her. "He wrote that thing months ago but he still hung onto it just to look back on it to see how far he come. And now, he wants you to get rid of it."

Judy stopped stirring and faced him. "Really? Then why didn't he ask me himself?" she questioned in disbelief.

"He's too embarrassed to."

"How do I know you're covering for him and he's really not okay?" she said, folding her arms in an authorative manner.

"I'm okay Jude!" Tom cut in.

Judy looked at him carefully when Tom made his way over, searching with her eyes from one eye to the other. "I really hope so Hanson."

Tom placed his hands on her shoulders. "I really am okay Jude," he reassured her.

Judy relaxed from his hold then smiled. After she gave the paper back, from inside of her drawer, Tom ripped it up and tossed it in the bin.

"There!" Tom smiled, looking pleased with himself. "I know this is what Amy would've wanted me to do...No more guilt. No more scenerios...just leaving the past in peace."

A smile reflected on Doug and Judy's faces, happy that their friend found his closure.


End file.
